


Me? Afraid of Cats? Maybe

by Mismatcher111



Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Ailurophobia, Cats, Comfort, Cute, Cynophobia, F/M, Fear, Fluff, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-01
Updated: 2019-08-01
Packaged: 2020-07-28 11:28:54
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 883
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20063284
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mismatcher111/pseuds/Mismatcher111
Summary: Byleth has a secret up her sleeve. It might be silly, but she's afraid of cats and dogs. This of course is a problem because the monastery is filled with millions of them. She confides in Dimitri and he's determined to help her get over her fear.My personal theory as to why Byleth cannot pet any of the animals in the monastery. This is just a self indulgent oneshot. Dimitri x Byleth is there if you look hard enough. C&C wanted!





	Me? Afraid of Cats? Maybe

Byleth had a confession to make. She really was not fond of cats and dogs. In fact, she feared them quite so.

People would find it laughable that the emotionless Ashen Demon had such a prevalent phobia, so she kept her mouth shut about it, forcing herself to be calm in their presence. But if one of them ever so slightly brushed up against her leg, she would feel a shot of fear and panic creep up her spine. That was the curse that she faced.

Byleth would wonder why in Fódlan she had this phobia… then she would remember all the times she had fought dire wolves and monsters reminiscent of large cats. She had come close to death in many of those battles, surviving only by the skin of her teeth. Just recalling those memories made her usually still hands shake.

This is why when she came to the monastery, she was filled with horror. The first day she set out into the campus to greet her students, a stray cat brushed up against her leg. She jumped back. Then another did. By the gods, there were millions upon millions of cats…! She bit her lip, an emotion being drawn from her, and as soon as it came it disappeared. She simply rushed off and greeted her students as quickly as possible, before running into her room to sulk.

Over the year that she had been teaching there, her fear did not fade. If a cat or dog even so much as walked in her direction, she would find any excuse she could to walk away. Those slitted eyes and slobbering mouths sent a visceral fear into her. It just got worse as time went on, more and more emotions flowing through her like rivers. Byleth decided she would only do a few things every Sunday before calming herself down in her personal quarters… it was the best she could do for herself after all.

* * *

Byleth sat on her bed, sighing. This war was getting to her. With each passing day, she could feel herself getting more and more stressed. Her students cheered her up of course, with Ashe and Ingrid's stalwart love of knights, Flayn's poetic wisdom, Sylvain's playful flirtation, Annette and Mercedes' beautiful friendship, and Felix's biting wit… and of course, Dimitri's reformed sense of justice… but it never really seemed to break that overlying sense of exhaustion she felt.

And of course, she had completely forgotten about her fear of cats and dogs. It never disappeared in all the time she was asleep.

Byleth stood up, flattened her sheets, and set out for the day. Once again, she would count how much time she was outside and leave as soon as she'd done all she could. Just to avoid the cats and dogs. Gods, she was pitiful.

As she walked through the dormitory area, she saw a curious sight. Dimitri was laying down on the ground, smiling somewhat warmly. She came a bit closer and her face whitened. There was a mountain of cats crawling over him. Her legs shook as she looked upon him with horror. He looked up and instantly went red, mistaking her fear as judgement.

"Oh! Prof- Byleth! I did not see you there- I, uhm…" He tried in vain to push off the cats, but they refused to budge. "You caught me at a bad time… haha…"

"No, it's… it's fine. I see you get along well with the-" She choked her next word out. "Cats."

"Well, perhaps. Or I just smell of fish. I was helping Flayn fish an uncommon one out at the dock. Are you alright Byleth? You look quite pale."

She sighed, wringing her hands and forcing herself to stay calm.

"I trust you, Dimitri, so I will tell you something personal."

"Oh?" His eyebrow cocked.

"I have… quite a terrible fear of cats and dogs."

As she said this, his mouth formed a small 'o.' He then thought a moment, putting his hand to his chin.

"Come here."

As much as she did not want to, she obeyed. 

"Now… this may be a bit too quick, but I realize that your fear might be the reason why you do not go out often, yes?"

Solemnly, she nodded. He let out a 'hm.'

"I want you to close your eyes and hold out your hand."

She once again obeyed, hand shaking. All of a sudden, she felt something soft, fluffy, and warm up against her palm. She slowly began to pet it, smiling slightly. It felt like a blanket that would most certainly comfort her in especially cold nights.

"Now open your eyes."

She opened them to see a tiny, mewling kitten held out by him, its fur snowy white. The kittens eyes were barely open, and she knew now that it was weak and fragile and could do nothing to harm her. A droplet of a tear flowed from her right eye, realizing for once she felt no fear of this animal. He smiled up at her proudly, his icy blue eye crinkling with mirth.

"It isn't so bad, is it?" He whispered fondly. She shook her head, continuing to touch the cat gently. "Come lay down with me, I will introduce you to the rest of them."

**Author's Note:**

> And then Dimitri and Byleth adopted so many cats. The End.


End file.
